Data from SMMT (the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders) for 2024 shows that, by unit numbers, UK production of cars fell by -14% to just under 780,000, output of commercial vehicles grew by +4% to over 125,000 (the highest since 2008) and the number of engines made in the UK was down by -7% to below 1.6 million.
Despite the fall in car production, the 2024 figure was still just above the recent low point that was recorded in 2022 but there is no denying that the trend is moving in the wrong direction. There was a fall of -8% in cars for the home market and a reduction of -15% in exports; the latter figure was a new record low of just over 603,000 vehicles (our time series goes back to 1999). The export ratio of 77% was the lowest since 2015; the European Union accounted for 54% of UK car exports (by units), with the USA next on the list at 17%, followed by China which took 7%.
Nissan was again the largest manufacturer in the UK, accounting for 36% of total production (282,000 vehicles); they were followed by JLR at 33% (257,000), with 3rd placed Mini (14%, 110,000 cars) the only other manufacture in 6-digits as Toyota fell back under this threshold in taking 13% (98,000) of total car production.
The only good news comes from the commercial vehicle sector where output grew by +4.0% to reach its highest level since 2008 (the year before Ford opened its factory in Turkiye and started to move Transit Van production away from the UK). However, it is worth noting that the 2008 total was just under 203,000, so there is some way to go to get back to historical levels. Within the total for commercial vehicles, deliveries to the UK market fell by -1% while exports grew by +7% and the latter accounted for 65% of UK production – this is the highest ratio since 2010.
Finally, but for manufacturing technology suppliers, probably most importantly, SMMT reports that UK production of internal combustion engines (they don’t give a breakdown by fuel type) was -7% lower than in 2023, although it is still higher than in 2022. The home market – supplying engines to vehicles “constructed” in UK factories – declined by +14% to just over 557,000 which is the lowest number since 2009. Export deliveries only fell by -3% and is still just over the 1 million mark and the export ratio of 65% is the highest since 2011.
You can get the details from the SMMT website at https://www.smmt.co.uk/vehicle-data/manufacturing/ or request the data file from MTA.